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Moose head to playoffs on winning notes

April 13, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


TORONTO, ON. -- Though the Toronto Marlies battled back from an early two-goal deficit, the Manitoba Moose finished on top of a 4-3 decision thanks to a third-period goal by defenceman Maxime Fortunus and clutch saves from Cory Schneider. The Moose can now focus on their first-round playoff opponent, the Syracuse Crunch. The Moose-Crunch series gets underway Friday, April 18th in Syracuse.

The Moose struck first only two minutes into the game. After feeding Alexander Bolduc with a backhand pass, Brad Moran descended on Marlies' netminder Scott Clemmensen, received the puck back from Bolduc, and lifted it into the net to score the first goal of the game.

Fellow first-liner Jannik Hansen soon made it two on Manitoba's second shot. While surging up the right wing, Hansen fired a slapshot from the top of the face-off circle, and though Clemmensen caught a piece of the puck, it bumbled across the goal line to give the Moose a 2-0 lead.

Shortly after Hansen's goal, Toronto's Kris Newbury took an interference penalty, but Manitoba was unable to extend their lead on the game's first powerplay. Once back at full strength, the Marlies cut Manitoba's lead in half. From the middle of the face-off circle, John Mitchell guided a slapshot over Schneider's glove and inside the post to put his club within one heading into the second period.

The Marlies were on the attack early in the middle frame, and despite benefiting from a second powerplay, the Moose struggled to find offensive momentum. A hooking penalty to Moran at the 10-minute mark didn't help matters for Manitoba, but the club excelled on the disadvantage and forced play back into the Toronto zone. Though Clemmensen stopped Greg Rallo's original shot, Greg Classen caught a piece of the bouncing rebound to score his second shorthanded goal of the season and put the Moose up 3-1.

A mishandled puck brought the Marlies back within one in the first minute of the third period. While playing the puck behind his net, Schneider directed it back out to the slot, where Alex Foster pounced and pushed it across the line before the goalie could get back into position.

With 10 minutes left in the game, Toronto's David Ling evened the score. The Marlies controlled the play in the Moose zone, and when Schneider was scrambling, Ling capitalized by lifting the puck just under the crossbar to set the score 3-3.

But a pair of Toronto penalties threatened the home team's comeback, and Manitoba wasted no time reclaiming their lead. During the five-on-three powerplay, Fortunus beat Clemmensen from the slot to put the Moose back up by one.

The Marlies topped 30 shots and iced six skaters in the game's final minutes, but Schneider stepped up to stall the desperate team, ensuring a season-closing 4-3 victory for the Moose.

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American Hockey League Stories from April 13, 2008


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